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djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:28 So if you feel a little glum, to Hergest Ridge you should come. - from "On Horseback", by  Mike Oldfield. Last week, I made the pilgrimage to Hergest Ridge early Wednesday morning... on the very last day of my three and half month, extended travel in Europe (a dozen countries, about 30 cities). This was one of the highlights of my trip. Link to the Google+ Album (Note. I almost didn't make it - I had a serious logistical obstacle to manage - I had to renew my US driver's license form the UK in a very limited amount of time - see "Prologue" - at the end of this thread) Drive from London to Kington On Tuesday night at midnight, I left from London Stansted airport for the drive to Kington. (I had just picked up my renewed US driver's license that evening). This was my very first time driving in the UK - on the left side of the road; I chose a Ford Focus automatic (I figured better to drive an automatic while getting oriented to the roads and roundabouts) The drive West through the England countryside in the middle of the night was actually quite enjoyable and efficient (no traffic) and I arrived in the Kington area early Wednesday morning between 3:00 am and 4:00 am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOEmoaumrkA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzfPjmMEINo Early Morning Wednesday in Kington After grabbing a few hours of sleep (in the car), I set out to briefly survey the town. Along the way, I was approached by students wielding clipboards from the nearby Lady Hawkins School. They were doing a study on traffic safety. Not wanting to be discourteous, I took the survey, but I ended up responding to questions like "Would parking be safe on High Street?" with qualified answers like: "probably, but I'm just a tourist!". I then stopped in a coffee/tea house for a fruit scone and some tea. (Regency Cafe and Take-Away on Mill Street). I was inquiring about local directions, when Sure enough, one of the patrons starting telling me about seeing Mike Oldfield around town regularly - some years back. She said she thought he was very nice, and that her kids (all about my age) were big fans of his music. Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:29 Hergest Croft Garden Then, armed loosely with my plan (Hergest Croft Gardens,  Hergest Ridge, and the Beacon), I drove through town up Church Street - and then onto Ridgebourne Road to the Hergest Croft Gardens area - where I parked for a brief excursion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnTft9NOZFY Hergest Ridge I then advanced up Ridgbourne road again, and parked at the connection to the Offa's Dyke Path - the walking path onto Hergest Ridge. (Note that there is another roadway "Upper Hergest" that extends a bit further but I didn't explore that way. Also, don't sweat the local directions. I couldn't easily get oriented when reading other's accounts of thier visits - but when you arrive in the area, it all makes sense - and everything is very well-illustrated on Google Maps) Walking Hergest Ridge was quite exhilarating. I generally kept the path within eyesight, but I strayed quite a bit, eventually walking past the highest peaks, across the Wales border - and within about a mile or less of the St. Mary's Gladestry... where the path begins/end on the Wales side of the border.   Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DyoFMw8BdU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3oLCJIkhc0 The "Whetstone" And the magical "Whetstone" is there on the Path (actually it's relatively early in the path) I'm not a person of faith, but I did perform the walk-around and make a wish (which I won't reveal of course). Notice I'm not wearing shoes; I'd like to tell you it's because I was following a Medieval Celtic ritual... but the simple truth is, I couldn't find anything nearby to hold my smartphone/camera (i.e., no loose rocks), so I used one of my shoes. I walk a fast pace and I would estimate I trekked about 7 miles back and forth -over the course of a couple hours - before returning to the Hergest Croft Garden area. Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:31 The Beacon My initial plan was to drive to the house - take a few obligatory snapshots around the house, not draw too much suspicion ( and do nothing to alert local law enforcement! ) That's really all I had time for - or so I thought. It  was approaching 1:00 pm - and my return flight from Heathrow was scheduled for 6:45... and I still had to gas-up and return the rental car, and navigate the airport. This translated into getting to London by 5:00 pm. I had roughly four hours left for a 3 1/2 hour drive) Tour of the Beacon? But that day was my lucky day.  Just as I was pulling my vehicle out of the Beacon parking lot - and after I'd already programmed both my navigators (Yes, 2 navigators) for Heathrow, a neighbor (owner of "Hill House" presumably) came out walking her dog and said hello. When I mentioned Mike Oldfield, she knowingly acknowledged and then encouraged me to check and see if anyone might be home! Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:40 Invited in to the Beacon That's all the encouragement I needed. I went ahead and knocked on the door... and the current owner of the Beacon was amazingly hospitable; he invited me in for a tour and was very generous with his time. It turns out, he too is a Mike Oldfield fan and his son is also gifted musician. He played a few selections of his's sons impromptu piano compositions for me, and they were quite complex and moving. He also showed me how the space was arranged during the Hergest Ridge / Ommadawn era, and showed me the upper area in the front of the house where Sally Oldfield lived. He pointed out original fixtures, showed me where the recording studio was set up, and explained how the space has since been reconfigured. For me, this was all quite surreal - particularly on the last day of my European tour. IMPORTANT: I really don't recommend doing what I did! As gracious as the owner was with me, this is a private residence of course, so contacting in advance would probably be in order if possible. Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 15:59 Prologue. Making this trip happen took some determination: When I left the states in March, I was scheduled to complete travel (including UK travel) by the end of May - which meant reaching Hergest Ridge before the May 31st expiration date of my US driver's license. Then, in May, my schedule changed; instead of going to the UK middle of May as planned, I went further East (to Istanbul), with a modified plan to visit the UK during June (and a return flight on June 18th) But I'd completely forgotten about the May expiration of my driver's license! - and I didn't realize it until the end of May, just as I was arranging to rent a car to drive across England during the first week of June. Bottom Line: I had to renew my New Jersey State driver's license from the UK! A major project with many hours of international phone calls, recruiting state-side help from friends and pleading with New Jersey government officials on agreeable process requirements. My license finally arrived at the FedEx hub at London Stansted on the evening of Tuesday, June 17th. I immediately retrieved it, along with the Ford Focus I'd rented  - and drove out to Kington in in the middle of the night - with less than 20 hours remaining until my return flight to the United States. (Special thanks to Áine! - my London friend from Ireland - for your support and encouragement) Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 25 2014, 16:02 Lodging Options? If I had more time, I would have stayed in the area at least a night or two. I had originally reserved an airbnb listing (for June 3rd to 4th), on the nearby Wales side of the border (before discovering my drivers license issue). The listing host, Janis was very gracious about my hectic plans and actually stayed in touch by phone to help me with local directions when I actually did get there. You can find her listing on airbnb titled "A glorious Mid-Wales rural retreat" Back to top

qjamesfloyd Group: Members Posts: 1357 Joined: April 2001 Posted: June 26 2014, 07:14 Thanks for the run down of your trip, sounds like you had a great time, and you very lucky to get your driving licence renewed too, or it could have all gone very wrong. Back to top

djordan Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: June 2014 Posted: June 28 2014, 10:42 Thanks qjf. Getting that driver's license took real effort (and indeed luck as well) but ultimately all justified by the visit. For me, this added new frames of reference and insight to the artist and the music that I've been listening to for over 25 years. Back to top

Bradnorman Group: Members Posts: 142 Joined: Oct. 2011 Posted: June 28 2014, 14:16 That was some trip! Thanks for sharing it with us. It's a shame you didn't have time to have a look at Shipton Manor (formerly the Manor Studios) on your way back. If you ever visit the UK again, it's located just north of Oxford. -------------- ‘Is my team ploughing,    'That I was used to drive   And hear the harness jingle    When I was man alive?' Life is arbitrary Back to top

First_Excursion Group: Members Posts: 280 Joined: Aug. 2012 Posted: July 03 2014, 17:47 Awesome! Thanks for the report. Back to top

Priabonia Group: Members Posts: 270 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 09 2014, 17:51 An epic tale, thanks for telling! I visited HR some 35 years ago, whilst walking the Offa's Dyke path. I didn't even know at the time that The Beacon was right there, otherwise I would probably (no, make that certainly...) made the detour. Lovely place, just a shame that The Beacon itself is not that much to look at! Amazing to think that it is where possibly one of the finest albums of all time was made! -------------- https://www.youtube.com/user/PriaboniaMusic www.soundcloud.com/just-before-dawn Back to top

Priabonia Group: Members Posts: 270 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 09 2014, 17:52 PS, what are the computer screen shots of? -------------- https://www.youtube.com/user/PriaboniaMusic www.soundcloud.com/just-before-dawn Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: July 10 2014, 20:15 What an adventure!! It did remind me of my own (short) time in Hergest Ridge 4 years ago.Great pictures btw! -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

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